MIR's Travel Blog:At the Crossroads of Europe and Asia

MIR co-founder and president Doug Grimes is quite fond of Siberia, in any season and any weather. He and his hand-picked team of specialists at MIR design and support imaginative small group tours and independent travel to the wilds and the not-so-wilds of Siberia.

We asked Doug to tell us about some of his favorite activities on Siberia’s UNESCO-listed Lake Baikal, the deepest and oldest lake in the world.

I first made it to Siberia’s Lake Baikal in the 1980s, when it was even more of a sparsely-populated backwater than it is today. I’ve seen it in all seasons, and I enjoy finding fun and challenging things to do whenever I touch down on either side of the deepest, oldest lake on earth.

With a list that includes dog-sledding, ice-fishing, hiking the Great Baikal Trail, and barbecuing on the lake shore, my favorite things can be duplicated by any MIR traveler who wants to experience the best of Siberia.

Hospitality, friendship and warmth have been with me in my travels to Siberia since my very first visit, back when I felt like an explorer discovering new lands and new peoples. I still feel that way today.

A throwback to Vlad and Doug at Shaman Rock in the 1990sPhoto: Vladimir Kvashnin

Winter Fun

I did this on my last winter trip to Baikal, The dog trainer gave me a short lesson and then a demonstration. Then off we went – he sat in the sled up front and I drove it. You stand on part of the sled rails and mush your team along. I recommend it.

I gave this a try two different times on my last winter Baikal trip as well. You get all suited up, with a full ski suit that goes over your winter clothes, and good riding gloves, helmet, and goggles. You get a short lesson, and then you’re on your own. They are very fast, and it’s a fun way to explore around.

I always enjoy fishing; doesn’t matter if it’s winter or not. Seems to always go with some vodka when you’re on Baikal.

The ice on Baikal can get as thick as six feet up north, and is usually two to three feet thick around Listvyanka. From December to March in a typical year you can drive nearly all over the lake.

Canny fishermen auger out a hole through the thick ice, then put an insulated cover over it to keep it clear. That is, if they don’t haul a fishing shack out to the spot on a sled or skis. You can sometimes see a Mongolian ger guarding someone’s special fishing hole and sheltering the anglers.

Well, this was quite fun. I was on a journey across the lake on a hovercraft when we stopped for a photo shoot in the middle of the lake. While we were snapping pictures, the hovercraft captain took out a large drill and drilled four holes about two inches deep and about 1.5 inches in diameter, and filled them with vodka. Then he passed out straws for a shot from Lake Baikal!

Not my sport! I have not done this, and doubt that I ever will. But our Tour Specialist Willis Hughesalmost did – he wrote about his experience during the annual race (and about ice-skating on Baikal) on our blog.

Summer Fun

There are quite a few great trails around Baikal now, and there is a wonderful one that begins at Listvyanka. It’s a 24 km trail with a moderate level of difficulty that hugs the lakeshore for awe-inspiring views.

The Great Baikal Trail (GBT) Project has been using volunteers to build ecologically sensitive trails all around the lake since 2003. In 2018, there are 10 international projects planned for July and August. In this way, GBT has been able to open more than 500 km of trails.

MIR-Siberia teams and their families camp and hike the Great Baikal Trail Photo credit: Vladimir Kvashnin

This is pretty amazing – I have seen several of them. I would recommend it. Either from the western side or on Olkhon Island; even east of the lake, around Ulan Ude, there is an opportunity for a shaman ceremony.

Olkhon Island has been a sacred place for millennia, the place where the indigenous Buryats believed that the gods of Baikal lived. Shaman Cape – just off the sandy west coast near the island’s largest town, Khuzhir – has traditionally been used for many years by shamans, and later Buddhists, for ceremonies.

Shamanism is based on a spiritual belief that used to be an integral part of indigenous Siberian life, and to some extent, still is. Shamans intercede for people with the spirit world, the unseen world that pervades the environment. Everything in the natural world – rock, tree, river, animal and star – has a spirit that may be angered by a clumsy word, or soothed by a shaman’s rituals. A sick or unhappy person may ask a shaman to perform a ritual to help him or her.

Always a great way to enjoy the fresh air, the beauty of the lake, the views around, and the water. There’s usually some fresh Baikal fish on the picnic table, as well as juicy shashlik – skewers of barbecued meat – and all the fixings. Take a dip in the lake – you have to try it. The water is quite cold, but worth it.

This is challenging, but doable. You can only find these endemic fresh-water seals on certain islands around the lake, and they are not that easy to get to. Or you could simply check them out in the aquarium in Listvyanka. They’re chubby and fun.

Any Time

Nice when you’re close to the lake so you can use it as your cool dip.

The popularity of the banya, or Russian bathhouse, has not diminished with the advent of universal running water. From the rustic log-cabin banya in the villages to the huge old communal banyas of the cities, the traditional Russian bath is viewed as the epitome of a healthful experience.

A typical banya includes a changing room or vestibule, a room for washing and a sauna with a wood-fired stove. The bather adjusts the amount of steam by ladling water onto hot rocks. Urban banyas might include a cold plunge pool, but in rural banyas, the bathers are happy if they can jump into a nearby lake to cool off. It’s customary in Russian banyas to beat oneself or one’s neighbor with a branch of birch leaves soaked in water, to stimulate blood flow and release toxins.

I love to ride on this complicated and scenic leg of the Trans-Siberian, passing through tunnels, over bridges, and around the bays and inlets of Baikal.

Baikal’s southern shore consists of rocky cliffs that plunge into the lake, and the Trans-Siberian engineers knew a rail line here would be a major undertaking. They began in 1899 and proceeded slowly and laboriously, while ice-breaker ferries carried the train cars and passengers across the lake, an inefficient system fraught with problems.

As the 1904 Russo-Japanese war heated up, Czar Nicholas II hired Italian and Armenian master stonemasons and ordered 10,00 laborers to the site, where they eventually dug more than 30 tunnels through the rock, and built some 300 bridges and viaducts. Every two miles of track required a wagonload of explosives. The beautifully built bridges and tunnels are still in use today, though the Circumbaikal line operates solely for the delight of sightseers.

Passengers on the Circumbaikal Route pass through 33 tunnels, short and long Photo credit: Helen Holter

Omul, the endemic Baikal salmon-like fish, is a favorite around here. There are several places in lakeside Listvyanka where fresh Baikal omul is prepared for smoking. The gutted fish are first salted and then propped open with shaved sticks and smoked over alder twigs. Vendors wrap the smoked omul in newspaper for visitors to take home if they haven’t caught their own.

Travel to Lake Baikal with MIR

The waters of Lake Baikal are so clear you can often see more than 100 feet below the surface Photo credit: Martin Klimenta

MIR has 30 years of travel experience to Russia, with Siberian affiliate offices in Irkutsk and Ulan Ude offering on-the-ground support, and tour managers that clients rave about. MIR’s full service, dedication, commitment to quality, and destination expertise have twice earned us a place on National Geographic Adventure’s list of “Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth.”

WE WENT WITH MIR INTO SIBERIA… WAS A WONDERFUL PLACE. PRISTINE. CLEAN . CLEAR. VERY IN EXPENSIVE TO BUY THINGS.
SAW YOGART BEING MADE SHEEP BEING HERDED. WE SAW OUR JEEPS CROSSING THE TUNDRA WITH ONLY A MOUNTAIN IN FRONT OF US… AS OUR GUIDE. WE RODE CAMELS…STAYED IN FIRST CLASS LODGES…
GO ON A 5000 PASSENGER SHIP OR THE SAME OLD DUMB PLACES IF YOU HAVE NO ADVENTURE… BUT A TRIP WITH MIR IS A TRIP WITH THE LOCALS AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE EXCITED TO TALK TO AMERICANS AND LEARN ABOUT OUR LIFE STYLES.
JIM DELMONTE HONOLULU HAWAII

Great material. I really like how you created the list of key things to do at the lake. I also would like to add that you can take Free Guided Walking Tour in Irkutsk city, which is very informational and fun. I created a special website, where you can book this free tour.

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